Testimonies of CSRT Officers

Lt. Col. Stephen AbrahamPhoto: Chris Carlson / NPR

According to a July 14, 2006 memorandum from the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense established, on 7 July 2004 a Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) process to determine, "in a fact-based proceeding, whether individuals detained by the Department of Defense at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are properly classified as enemy combatants and to permit each detainee the opportunity to contest such designation." The shortcomings of this proceeding have been detailed in an October 2006 report by Mark Denbeaux and others.

In an article in Counterpunch, author and journalist Andy Worthington reported that three CSRT officers have given testimony that raises serious doubts about the fairness of these tribunals to the detainees. Since these doubts constitute allegations of legal abuse, CSHRA has gathered these testimonies, added to them, and posted all of them below. The actual CSRT documents that have been made public have been posted here.